Ashford MP and immigration minister Damian Green has rejected a claim that the relaxation of border controls has allowed non-EU citizens to waltz into the country.

The charge came from Labour spokesman Chris Bryant during a House of Commons debate on Monday, when the issue of the relaxation of border controls by the UK Border Agency was raised by several MPs.

Mr Green denied that cuts in Border Agency staffing levels were compromising security.

He said: "The reductions in staffing are not affecting the frontline because we are improving the frontline. For example, we have airline liaision officers who have prevented 60,000 people from travelling; we are using face recognition technology to make our borders more secure. It is important that we have intelligent border controls using the right technology and have people in the right place to keep our borders secure."

Labour’s Chris Bryant said that the relaxation on checks had allowed some people to waltz into the country when they may otherwise have been stopped.

He said that 886 frontline posts were being cut this year and a further 1,552 would go before the next election.